Question: Martha and Alice are playing the fifth hole. Martha hits her ball on the green and it comes to rest two feet from the hole. Alice then proceeds to hit her ball from off the green and it strikes Martha’s ball and knocks it into the hole.
Martha says to Alice, “Thanks! That gives me a birdie for the hole.” Is she correct?
Answer: No. Martha is required to replace her ball as close as possible to the spot where it was before it was moved. There is no penalty for Alice since she was off the green when she hit her shot and she must play her ball from where it comes to rest.
Tip of the day: When you are chipping from just off the green, I recommend that you use a less lofted club (7 or 8 iron). Avoid automatically pulling out your sand or lob wedge. These clubs are more difficult to chip with, and the bad shots get worse. For higher handicap golfers, I recommend putting if you can.
This is not absolute advice, but will prove to be better most of the time.
As always, have fun playing and practicing golf. E-mail me at grahamgolf@darientel.net with questions or suggestions.